RT-LAMP Diagnostic Kit For COVID19
New RT-LAMP-based Diagnostic Kit for COVID-19 diagnosis by CSIR-IIM and RIL
All over the world, asymptomatic COVID-19 cases are posing as a big concern, making the early diagnosis of the infection more important.
A new RT-LAMP-based diagnostic kit (RT-LAMP stands for Reverse Transcriptase-Loop Mediated Isothermal Amplification) has been developed by the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM), Jammu, in collaboration with Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) as they join in the fight against COVID-19.
RT-LAMP test involves nucleic acid-based tests carried out from the throat or nasal swab samples from patients. RT-LAMP test is accurate, cost-effective, and is rapid (45-60 min). Director of IIIM Jammu, Dr. Ram A Vishwakarma said, “We have tested the kit with samples from a small number of patients; together with RIL, validating the kit on more number of patient samples is planned. Using synthetic templates, the test recipe has been developed and successfully demonstrated.”
The RT-LAMP test can be used at bus stands, railway stations, airports, and other public places as it is done with minimal expertise in a basic lab set-up like mobile units/kiosks, and is done in a single tube. A simple colored reaction is the end detection of
the test which is easily visible in UV light and for it to be detected in regular light, it is currently being modified.This test kit’s advantages include the kit components completely manufactured in India as all the components are easily available. Most of RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) components which are currently in use are being imported to the country. Dr. Vishwakarma said, “PCR tests cannot be deployed at railway stations, airports, at remote locations, and in quarantine centers, as they require a relatively high-end lab and highly trained manpower and they are also expensive.”
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) will be approached jointly by CSIR-IIIM and RIL for the approval of the kit once the accuracy of the kit on a much larger number of patients is tested. The General Manager R&D from RIL, Dr. Manish Shukla said, “Widespread COVID-19 diagnosis in the larger interest of society will be conducted by using the RT-LAMP-based diagnostic kit as it is rapid and easy, and RIL plans to rapidly scale up the production of this diagnostic kit.” CSIR-IIIM, Jammu, and RIL have also signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for this purpose.
RT-LAMP Diagnostic Kit For COVID19
